ECErN newsletter 2025 No. 1
Dear colleague! Thank you for registering as a participant in ECErN.We are roughly 80 registered researchers who are members of the network, and new ones are joining. At the last meeting of the board, we decided that we would start a newsletters and here comes the first. The newsletters will be published two to four times a year, be short and contain information that members want to share with each other.Today, the newsletter contains the following: 1. ECErN: Backgrounds and vision2. Summary of the ECErN 2025 conference in Stavanger and the way forward3. Upcoming Conferences4. Literature and projects shared by our members. We hope you will enjoy the newsletter, feel free to share it with others and feel free to recruit more colleagues to participate in the network. Sincerely Professor Tom Sverre Bredal-Tomren (Chair)
1. ECErN: Backgrounds and visionECErN was founded in the autumn of 2024 as an initiative from researchers who had previously met through the European Christian Environment Network (ECEN.org) and through the Ecothee conferences under the auspices of the Orthodox Church. The network is independent with its own constitution that entails a clear affiliation with ECEN.
The objective is to fostering academic research and collaboration in the study of ecotheology within the context of Christian belief and practice. We connect scholars, theologians, and researchers from diverse academic institutions across Europe, providing a platform for the exchange of ideas, resources, and insights. With a focus on interdisciplinary inquiry, we aim to advance the understanding of the relationship between Christian theology and environmental sustainability, promoting critical dialogue and innovative scholarship in this vital field of study.On our webpage we have described our activities as: 1. Sharing of research, 2. Seminars and workshops,3. Joint publications and 3. to Stimulates collaboration. You wil find more information on our webpage Ecer.orgIf you aren’t registrated as a member og ECErN and wants to be a member you can do this here: https://nettskjema.no/a/ecern
2. Summary of the ECErN 2025 conference in Stavanger and the way forward22.09-23.09 deltok totalt 75 deltagere på konferansen ECERN 2025 med tittelen Ecotheology as an academic subject. The program can be found here. We were fortunate to have high-profile keynote speakers and researchers from a total of 27 different countries who contributed with both historical insights and visions for how to work with ecotheology in academia. Thank you very much to all of you who contributed!Most of the posts were flicked and you who are members can find the recordings here.Attached to this email you will also find the submitted abstracts of those who presented. Those who presented new research will receive an invitation to submit manuscripts that will be considered for publication in an upcoming book that is expected in the summer of 2026.
3. Upcoming Conferences
1. First, we must mention that ECErN 2026 is planned to be held in Brussels 2026 on 26-28 June. August. More information about this will come, but for now we ask you to keep the dates.
2. The European Forum for the Study of Religion and the Environment announce its eighth international conference, Thursday May 7 to Saturday May 9, 2026. University College Stockholm, Sweden, “Telling a Different Story: Religion, Colonialism, and Extractivism in Europe”. More information here. 3. European Academy of Religion announces its Ninth Annual Conference, which will take place in Rome, Italy, June 30 - July 3, 2026. As in previous years, the conference program will comprise working sessions including open panels, closed panels, book presentations (Author Meets Critique), and keynote lectures focusing on the overarching topic, Religions and (in)equalities. More information here.
3. The European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN) is planning its joint meeting 28.08 -02.09 in Brussels. It is intended in the same place and right after ECErN plaques its collection. More information about this will be available here.
4. Literature and projects shared by our members.
We have received the following from the network's members to share with other members:
• DR Roger Roger R. Pongo: In our collective book entitled "Frontiers and Hospitalities. We are addressing a subject that touches on the richness and poverty of humanity at the same time, by emphasizing this "human drama of uprooting, population displacement, enlistment, evacuation, exodus, etc."“We have approached these ..social realities as related, complex, fluctuating experiences. They generate debates and multiple tensions in all areas: political (war, persecution, etc.), economic (poverty, job search, etc.), social (desire to join family members already established in another country), cultural (continuing their studies in higher education institutions), environment and climate change (: The effects of climate change, such as desertification or sea level rise, etc.). etc.). “ ( Auto translated from French). For more information: roger.mpongo@yahoo.fr
• Dr. Tim Middelton: New book titeled: Witnessing a Wounded WorldA Theology of Ecological Trauma. You can read about it and order it here: https://fordhampress.com/witnessing-a-wounded-world-hb-9781531512767.html
• Dr. Tom S. Bredal- Tomren. I like to share with you a series of article on indigenous ecotheology inspired by Sami cosmology. The last was published recently:Sámi ecotheology as a resource for the church of Norway An ecocritical analysis of two Sámi ecotheologians (2023) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0039338X.2023.2194273The Church of Norway and the Sami Fight against Wind Turbines: A Case Study ( Tom Sverre Bredal-Tomren and Benedikte Cecilie Renberg, 2023) p. 145-180 https://www.zrs-kp.si/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ECOTHEE_2024_ONLINE_EDITION.pdfEcotheology from the Sámi church council of the Church of Norway: An ecocritical analysis of statements (2025) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0039338X.2024.2443491?src=recsysSámi cosmology, spirituality, and practices as a resource for sustainability teaching: an Ecocritical case study from Norway (2025) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14675986.2025.2542610
